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This creamy garlic chicken skillet is an easy 30-minute entrée that is restaurant-quality delicious! Juicy, golden brown chicken thighs are smothered in a rich and garlicky cream sauce. Serve it with mashed potatoes, pasta, rice — the possibilities are endless!
Even when inspiration in the kitchen is lacking, as long as I have some chicken thawed, I know I can get a delicious dinner on the table.
That’s because I have so many wonderful chicken skillet recipes that are easy to make and don’t require a ton of fancy ingredients!
With a nice variety ranging from one-pan Mexican chicken skillet to Asian-inspired honey garlic chicken, we won’t get sick of chicken anytime soon!
My “marry me” creamy chicken skillet has long been a favorite of both my family and my followers. This week, I wanted to try something a little simpler.
This creamy garlic chicken skillet is exactly what I was craving — without the parmesan and sundried tomatoes, the cream, garlic, and seared chicken can really shine. It’s simple, elegant, and bursting with flavor!
It’s fancy enough for dinner guests, but quick and easy enough for a rushed weeknight meal.
If you’re staring down a package of chicken and wondering what to make for dinner, I have you covered! Creamy garlic chicken is a hit every time, and it seriously goes with any side dishes you want to make.
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- This creamy garlic chicken is ready in around 30 minutes! It’s so quick and easy to make, but it’s seriously better than a restaurant entrée.
- Even the pickiest eaters will love this chicken! Creamy sauce, tender chicken — what’s not to love?
- This recipe is very flexible and customizable, so you can make it your own. Feel free to add whatever sounds good: mushrooms, cheese, artichoke hearts, or spinach are just a few ideas.
- I offer plenty of serving ideas later on in this post, but creamy garlic chicken is one of my most versatile main dishes! It goes with pretty much anything, so I can whip up an elegant and tasty dinner with whatever I have on hand.
Ingredients
- Chicken thighs: I used skinless, boneless chicken thighs for this recipe, but you can also use bone-in thighs or breasts if that’s what you prefer.
- Flour: Tossing the chicken in flour before searing helps it form a beautiful golden-brown crust.
- Garlic: You may notice the recipe calls for both garlic powder and fresh garlic. That’s not a mistake; I really recommend adding both. Combined, they give the sauce a depth of flavor and more intense garlickiness that is simply incredible.
I share the full list of ingredients with measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
How to Make Creamy Garlic Chicken
Step 1. Combine the Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper, then coat each piece of chicken evenly. I actually add the chicken to a small mixing bowl and toss with the seasonings. Next, add the flour and toss to coat well.
Step 2. Heat a skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add the oil and place the chicken in the skillet. Cook for about 5 minutes, or until crispy and the chicken releases easily from the pan. Flip and cook the other side until crispy and cooked through. Remove from the skillet.
Step 3. Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the butter and garlic. Cook for 1–2 minutes, until fragrant.
Step 4. Add the chicken broth, heavy cream, Dijon mustard, garlic powder, salt and pepper, and crushed red pepper flakes. Stir frequently and let the sauce simmer until it reduces by about half. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Step 5. Add the chicken back into the skillet and simmer on low until heated through.
Tips + Notes
- You can use chicken breast or bone-in thighs in place of boneless thighs. It will take a bit longer to cook breasts or bone-in thighs, so adjust the cooking time accordingly. See my cast iron chicken breast recipe for tips!
- I recommend checking the internal temperature of your chicken using a digital thermometer. You want to reach 165°F to ensure it’s safe to eat.
- It takes about 15 minutes to reduce the sauce. If you prefer it thicker, whisk in 2 tablespoons of flour right after you add the chicken broth, then add the rest of the sauce ingredients.
- Don’t wash or scrape your skillet between searing the chicken and cooking the sauce! The process of scraping those crusty bits of chicken into the broth is called deglazing, and it adds richness and flavor to your sauce.
- Be careful not to boil the sauce, as that can cause it to curdle or split. You want to gently simmer it over medium-low heat so the liquid can be reduced without overheating the cream.
How to Serve Creamy Garlic Chicken
What I love most about this chicken recipe is how the sauce becomes a built-in gravy to smother whatever carb you serve it with! Because of this, I tend to favor homemade Dutch oven mashed potatoes as a side — the creamy sauce perfectly complements the potatoes and dresses them, similar to a cream gravy.
But mashed potatoes certainly aren’t your only option! This chicken is delicious on a bed of Dutch oven white rice, pasta (homemade whole wheat noodles are a treat), or with a side of oven-roasted potatoes.
You can also serve it with some veggies, like steamed broccoli or boiled asparagus, for a low-carb meal option.
But if you prefer plenty of carbs in your meal, you can never go wrong with bread as a side! Freshly milled dinner rolls, cheddar biscuits with fresh milled flour, or whole wheat baguettes are a hit every time.
Recipe FAQs
Leftovers can be saved in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-5 days. You can reheat them in the microwave or on the stove with a splash of milk to refresh the sauce.
It won’t be as rich and creamy, but you can substitute a lower-fat dairy if you’d like. It will be harder to get the sauce to thicken, so I recommend making a roux by adding a couple of tablespoons of flour to the butter in step 3 before adding the liquid ingredients.
Yes! It saves very well in the fridge and reheats beautifully.
Related Recipes
- One Pan Chicken Alfredo
- Skillet Cajun Chicken Bites
- Bang Bang Chicken
- Tuscan Roasted Chicken
- Chicken Pesto Pasta Bake
If you tried this Creamy Garlic Chicken Skillet or any other recipe on my website, please leave a star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. Thanks for visiting!
Creamy Garlic Chicken Skillet
Equipment
Ingredients
Chicken
- 4-6 chicken thighs boneless
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons cooking oil I use avocado oil
For the Sauce
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 5 cloves garlic diced or minced
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes optional
Instructions
- Combine the Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper, then coat each piece of chicken evenly. I actually add the chicken to a small mixing bowl, and toss with the seasonings. Next, add the flour and toss to coat well.
- Heat a skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add the oil and place the chicken in the skillet. Cook for about 5 minutes, or until crispy and the chicken releases easily from the pan. Flip and cook the other side until crispy and cooked through. Remove from the skillet.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the butter and garlic. Cook for 1–2 minutes, until fragrant.
- Add the chicken broth, heavy cream, Dijon mustard, garlic powder, salt and pepper and crushed red pepper flakes. Stir frequently and let the sauce simmer until it reduces by about half. I do like to taste the sauce, carefully, and add a bit of salt and pepper if needed.
- Add the chicken back into the skillet and simmer on low until heated through.
Video
Notes
- You can use chicken breast or bone-in thighs in place of boneless thighs. It will take a bit longer to cook breasts or bone-in thighs, so adjust the cooking time accordingly.
- I recommend checking the internal temperature of your chicken using a digital thermometer. You want to reach 165°F to ensure it’s safe to eat.
- It takes about 15 minutes to reduce the sauce. If you prefer it thicker, whisk in 2 tablespoons of flour right after you add the chicken broth, then add the rest of the sauce ingredients.
- Don’t wash or scrape your skillet between searing the chicken and cooking the sauce! The process of scraping those crusty bits of chicken into the broth is called deglazing, and it adds richness and flavor to your sauce.
- Be careful not to boil the sauce, as that can cause it to curdle or split. You want to gently simmer it over medium-low heat so the liquid can be reduced without overheating the cream.
